The Guard, directed by John Michael McDonagh (Ashlyn)

Brendan Gleeson tends to pick great scripts, and he sure found a winner in this film written and directed by up-and-comer John Michael McDonagh.

The Guard is about Sergeant Gerry Boyle, an Irish police officer, and FBI Agent Wendell Everett, as they team up to bring down a huge drug smuggling operation. Or at least...Agent Everett is trying. Sergeant Boyle is really much more interested in milkshakes and prostitutes, and hanging out with his equally irreverent mother. 

This film is in turns hilarious and bittersweet. There is pervasive adult language (although, if you don't have a good ear for Irish accents, you won't catch half of it), a few dead bodies in cold storage, and some other really funny, really inappropriate chatter. There is also one of the most realistic fire fights I have ever seen on film in here, proving that McDonagh has a real grasp of how to make a realistic film without sacrificing plot or pacing.

I loved it! It reminded me of In Bruges, although it has not nearly that level of violence. I give it an A, and a reminder not to watch this one with the kiddies (lest you have to explain some words to them)!